Ol
Ols'' are shapeshifting creatures who can take form of almost anything. They were created by the Shadow Lord. History ''The Deltora Book of Monsters Josef was hunted by two Ols disguised as fruit sellers after he spoke to a Dread Gnome about Gellick. They tracked him down to the sewers where he lived with Ranesh, but were killed by Steven and Nevets, who had been following the Ols in turn. ''Maze of the Beast'' ''Valley of the Lost'' Lief, Barda, and Jasmine encountered a group of Ols disguised as goats guarding the King's Bridge. The companions watched them go through the tremor before continuing along the road. ''Return to Del'' ''The Shadowlands'' After the Shadow Lord was banished back to the Shadowlands, it decided to replace the Ols with the Conversion Project, since Ols had proven too prone to human weakness. The last Grade 3 Ol created was 3-19. Lief spied several Ols in the Shadow Arena, entertaining themselves by changing shape. Anatomy An Ol's real form resembles ghastly, flickering white flames, as well as smoke, or a boiling raising mass. They have holes for eyes (which sometimes is described as glowing red) a toothless mouth. They have very long arms with strong hands which they often use to strangle their victims. A spike resembling a scary big flame rises from their head. In this form they have the mark of the Shadow Lord at their core. Whatever shape an Ol takes the mark can always be found somewhere on its body, though it can be in different sizes. In Marie and Ida's case it was a little mark on their chin. Ols always try to hide the mark with clothes or along with normal marks, such as tattoos. To defeat an Ol, one must pierce their heart, placed on the right side as opposed to the left. When they die, they melt into a mass of white and parts of the things and peoples they have taken form of is being revealed in the white mess. Behaviour Grade 1 Can take the shape of living people they have seen, but are very cold, cannot eat or drink, have the mark easy to see, and must take a break from the shape every three days. When they take a break they falter and shimmer. This is called "The Tremor". They always travel in pairs. Grade 2 Cunning and difficult to recognize. They can successfully pretend to eat and drink, make their skin feel warm, hide the mark very well, and can travel on their own. Grade 3 Can take the shape of non-living things as well as living and hold the disguise indefinently. Grade 3 Ols are extremely difficult to recognize, as they almost always are warm, eat and drink, do not change often, and hide the mark almost at an unrecognizable state. However, this perfection comes at the cost of vulnerability, as an Ol in the shape of a human can still die as a normal human would. The tremour The tremor is the process that Ols go trough when they hold a shape for three days. The Ol's control over their shape weakens, and they momentarily return to their true form. The process is very quick, but usually all the time needed to figure out what the Ol is. Grade 1 and 2 Ols experience the tremor, but grade 3 Ols are able to hold their shapes indefinently. Anime Merging Special low level ols with the ability to merge. The final form is stronger and larger depending on the number of Ols merged. Because of its height, its weakness point is harder to reach. Also, they can separate if more numbers are to the Ols' advantage. Diet Ols have no need or desire to eat, regardless of any form or transformation they are in. They can, however, pretend to. Known Ols *Marie and Ida *Sandra (the lady in pink) on the ''River Queen'' *James (the dancing partner; fake Barda) on the ''River Queen'' *A herd of goats stationed by the King's Bridge. *The two fruit-sellers (only appearing in The Deltora Book of Monsters, and seen and discovered by Josef) Grade 3 *Dain *Prandine *Fallow *Drumm *3-19 Anime (non-canon) * The Seer * The Foursome (Barda, Jasmine, Filli, Kree) Trivia References See also *Shadow Lord